Teams specialised in bereavement counseling and end-of-life care for neonates will soon be placed in all maternity hospitals nationwide.
The initiative has been announced by Minister for Health Simon Harris in a National Standards for Bereavement Care following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death document just published.
According to Mr. Harris, such initiative marks a ‘new beginning’ for bereavement care in Irish hospitals.
The idea was first proposed in the aftermath of the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar at University Hospital Galway in 2012.
The teams will include staff with specific and extensive education in bereavement care, and will also feature a dedicated clinical midwife specialist in bereavement care for each maternity unit.
Mr. Harris said ‘I am pleased that the standards will ensure that clinical and counselling services will be in place to support women and their families in all pregnancy loss situations, from early pregnancy loss to perinatal death, as well as situations where there is a diagnosis of a life-limiting or fatal foetal anomaly.’